IN SPITE OF IT ALL
by helloimbored713
Summary: Set in Season 3 with frequent flashbacks to 1 & 2. This story follows Linnie a fighter in the 2nd Mass as she tries to mend her friendship/relationship/it's complicated with Ben Mason. I promise that this story won't be as cheesy as it sounds. T for Language Ben/OC Please R


**Alrighty, I'm not exactly sure where this is going but hopefully I can turn this into a good fanfic. This is just the first chapter and since Falling Skies is a little confusing at times I tried to make sure everyone would know the basics so with that in mind, future chapters will be (hopefully) a lot more action packed and this story starts at the season 3 premiere I'll try to update after every episode. Please let me know if this turns into a Mary Sue because I really don't want that for this story so anyway ummmm Enjoy:)**

"Geez! How long's it take to set up a few sonic charges? We've been sittin' for at least an hour." I complained. Normally, I could be considered a very patient young lady, especially in the days before the alien apocalypse. However, two years after the invasion, that lady like temperament was rarely seen, and never was it seen while in the battle field. During missions like these, I always became anxious and short tempered. Not to mention my fierce side tended to show through on such occasions as this, which only complimented my naturally defiant nature. Don't get the wrong impression though, while I may be all of the above, I'm still a very level headed soldier even though my "naturally defiant nature" gave more than a few commanding officers a run for their money.

"Linnie, it's only been forty-five minutes. Besides, Matt's just a kid. Trust me Weaver'll give the president's youngest son as much time as he needs to get the job done safely." The voice of my squad leader, Anthony, came out in a hushed tone as if he was worried the skitters would hear him even from this distance, and blow the entire operation.

The entire 2nd Massachusetts Regiment had been waiting about a kilometer from the entrance to an abandoned coal mine on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina. Our goal:retrieve about fifteen maybe twenty teenagers from the grasp of the aliens. In front of the United States' toughest, most experienced, and most capable organization of soldiers there were two obstacles. The first being a mech, and although the huge mechanical drones were capable of blasting the entire battalion to bits,one mech on its own would be easy enough to take that, the second encumbrance would be easy enough to deal with; there was a group of six legged insect/humanoid aliens that could easily(and quite often did) tear humans to pieces known as skitters guarding the captive teens.

Our plan was to have Matt Mason set up four sonic charges around the perimeter which would daze the mech just enough so that our fighters could take it out with less of a hassell. After we took out the mech, a couple of our more skilled soldiers would easily be able to exterminate the few skitters there were. Then we would go home to Charleston and a good dinner with one more victory in our pocket.

I finally came up with a good enough complaint and responded. "Okay fine, the kid can take as long as he needs, we'll just wait until we go gray if we have to, but I don't see why Weaver didn't have me or Maggie or Ben set the charges. Matt's what 10? 11? It's too dangerous fer him out here."

Anthony seemed a little irked at my persistence."Matt's the smallest fighter we have and he can get around without being detected as easily. Linnie, you just think that because you turned sixteen you should be at the head of every mission."

Now I was the irked one. "Would you stop calling me that!" I snapped at him. Anthony and I usually got on very well together but we do still have our moments. "My name is Lindsay." I enunciated the name as if he was slow. "Linni sounds like that huge guy from Of Mice and Men."

Any tension that had risen, disappeared in an instant and Anthony replied with an almost audible smirk, "No it don't. See your Linni is spelled L-I-N-N-I" he said spelling 'my Linni' aloud. "Anyway you couldn't pass for some big hulking black dude if you tried. First of all, you're too pale. . . " Anthony continued to drone on about my southern belle mannerisms, twangy southern drawl, and how my brown waist length waves would never give me 'black dude status.'

I let him continue on until the chuckles and jibes of my squad members faded into a comfortable silence.

As I ran over the orders Colonel Weaver gave to us before he left to help Matt with the charges, I noticed a small slit in the hunter green curtain that covered the back of our humvee. In the afternoon light I could see the other six members of my team. Everyone looked battle hardened and anxious. At that moment, I heard the first sound of the sonic charges being detonated. It was soon followed by a second, then a third...

My body,along with everyone else's jostled as the personnel carrier sped towards the gate of the coal mine. My eyes flew to Anthony's and I could see the excitement that occupied his dark skinned face. "Let's give 'em hell boys!" His command was eagerly answered with numerous whoops and shouts of agreement.

_Well... that was easier than expected... _The mission had gone exactly as planned with no thoughts began to drift as I hopped down from the back of my squad's humvee. I ushered the filthy,drone-like teenagers onto the wooden plank and into said humvee. Each kid brandished an equally filthy harness on their back. The harnesses were created by the alien overlords who basically resembled slender man with a fish for a head, hence the name fish-head. Just one of the many,and I do mean many, recent discoveries of ours was that the skitters had once been harnessed too, which meant that we weren't the only planet to be invaded, but we have given the aliens a run for their money for the past two years and we certainly have proved to be a much more formidable force than they ever imagined.

So much devastation had been done at the hands of the aliens. I went down the long list in my head of every single way the aliens had done me and the entire world wrong: _first they wipe out eighty percent of our population, kill all of my friends, ruin any sort of happy future i might have had in a normal world, and not only that, our alien oppressors resorted to taking captive innocent children and controlling them with biomechanical organisms that took away any authority they had over themselves. _

Thoughts about "harnessed" kids drew my eyes towards the lean figure of Ben Mason. Ben was harnessed by the skitters at the beginning of the invasion, and he was one of the first kids that the 2nd mass had been able to save from the horrid contraptions. Thinking about what Ben, myself, and literally countless others had gone through in the past two years rekindled my belligerence towards the skitters and the fish-heads, as well as my determination to keep fighting.

With my eyes still trained on my favorite of the three Mason boys, I noticed his new partner, Denny, approach and congratulate him on his latest skitter kill. I couldn't help but feel a little vexed, watching them banter back and forth. Just a few months ago, I would've been in Denny's place: fighting at his side, joking with him, just doing what partners do. The only bad thing I could say about Denny (though I never actually would because she was too decent of a person to criticize) is that she had replaced me in Ben's life. These thoughts made me angry at myself for even bothering to bring up my past with Ben. I mentally scolded myself for being so fatuous. _It ain't Ben's fault, and it damn sure ain't hers.. Lindsay you know this is your fault so don't even try to blame either of them fer a second._

" You know, Lin, if I didn't know better I'd say that I can see a little bit of jealousy in your eyes ." I tore said eyes away from the two teens to see the blonde head of my favorite fighter in the entire 2nd Mass, Maggie, who also happened to be the closest thing I had to a best friend. I'd always liked Maggie if not for her natural badassery, then for the kindness she'd shone towards me from the get go, and the way she had naturally taken up the role as a big sister and confidante in my life.

Even though I could tell that the older girl was just teasing me, I couldn't help but get defensive when I felt the blood rise to my naturally rosy cheeks. Maggie, along with her hubby, Hal(who happened to be Ben's older brother), had always been one to tease me about my relationship with Ben. I had to mentally berate myself yet again when my thoughts drifted back to Ben._There ya go again, digging up the past again. Linnie, thinkin 'bout that boy won't do you no good so just STOP._

"Well, Margaret," I used her full name just to peev her. " I'd say it's a good thing that you do know better." Turning my back on Ben completely I added, " Or else I might have to ask Pope, who owes me a favor by the way, to put a little something extra in your dinner tonight."

I probably shouldn't have brought up John Pope, Maggie's former kidnapper and gang leader, but I could tell from the smirk on her face that the jibe didn't bother her.

"Even if you did, I'd still eat it. Pope may be an insufferable ass.. but the bastard can cook," Maggie returned and playfully elbowed me in the side, which I happily returned with a slightly greater force.

The sound of a couple dirt bikes speeding towards the wreckage of the abandoned coal mine entrance caught our attention. At the lead was none other than John Pope himself.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear,"I mumbled under my breath at the sight of tattered Mr. Pope.

"Come on, Let's see what the devil has to say." She started towards Pope and Captain- excuse me- Colonel Weaver, and I followed with a chuckle at the thought of Pope with horns, a spiky tail, and a pitchfork as he slaved away in the kitchen.

"-Ah come on cap, the fat lady just sang." Of course the rowdy leader of the Berserkers would be doing his best to pester Colonel Weaver.

"It's Colonel now, and besides it ain't over til-" Weaver's response was cut short by the sound of hundreds of pounds of rocks being cast aside. Two of the aliens' most lethal fighting machines, mega-mechs, emerged with four guns in place of arms locked and loaded.

"Duck and cover!" the words rang out from the mouths of numerous fighters, including my own.

I proceeded to do a pretty badass dive-and-roll thing behind the nearest truck. Now on my knees, I jammed a brand new clip into my AR- 15 and let the empty one fall into the dust. Just as the metal humanoids began to open fire,out of the corner of my eye, I saw a horde of skitters rushing out of the coal mine and towards the bewildered forms of Ben and Denny.

I would've run to help except for the fact that at least two bodies of my comrades were blasted into the air by mega-mech fire, so I turned my attention to the nearest threat.

I fired round after round into the metal armour of my assailant, aiming for the weakest points in the armor.

Soon enough we had one mega mech down and only one more to go. As I prepared to turn my fire on the other mech, the strangest sight caught my attention. President Mason made an unforgettable entrance atop a gorgeous stallion. Now for the strange part- flanking Tom Mason on an equally handsome dark bay, was yet another extraterrestrial. I was used to seeing this alien around Charleston. He was the one that everyone called Cochise and this alien was nothing like the skitters or overlords, this alien had big, wide-set puppy eyes and a human like body. I was so dumbfounded at the site of Cochise riding a horse that I had completely forgotten the mega mech I was supposed to be fighting.

Though they may have caused the destraction, Tom and Cochise quickly made up for it by firing their extraterrestrial weapons at the robotic droid, instantly annihilating it.

With all immediate threats gone, fighters slowly began to scramble out of their vantage points. There was hardly anyone without a few scrapes.

Instantly I scanned the area for Ben, I guess even after months, old habits die hard. I had become so accustomed to locating Ben during and after battles and missions that it was just an instinct more than anything else. He was still standing near the entrance of the mine but now he stood covered in a mixture of his own blood and skitter blood. Around him, at least a dozen skitters were crowded, however, no one panicked or was even shocked. These were the rebel skitter, a group skitters that somehow were able to resist the effects of the harness and resist the overlords as well. By the looks of it, Ben wouldn't have made it out alive without their help either. I never fully trusted the rebel skitters, but if Ben did then I did. Seeing as how they had just saved Tom Mason's middle child, they were trustworthy by me.

"-Why don't we all head home." By the time Tom's words had even pulled me out of my thoughts, the president had already disappeared, leaving behind a very relieved and tattered Colonel Weaver.

" Let's move out!" the colonel barked.


End file.
